False Memories - GCSE Psychology Definition

False memories refer to memories of events or details that feel real to a person but didn't actually happen or are remembered incorrectly. They occur when a person recalls something with confidence that is inaccurate or completely false. These can be influenced by things like suggestions from others, misleading information, or the passage of time.

In psychology, understanding false memories is important because it helps us learn how memory works and why our recollections may not always be reliable. This topic is often studied in the context of how eyewitness testimonies can be affected by false memories, which is a key concept in the GCSE Psychology course.